Will Kevin Durant Play in a Brooklyn Nets Uniform Next Season?
After an embarrassing first-round exit being swept by the Boston Celtics these past playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets find themselves in an odd situation. First, Kyrie Irving opted into his $37,000,000 player option for next season and will become a free agent in 2023. After this deal was done, Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets after signing a 4 year 194,219,320 contract in the summer of 2021. Next season Durant is supposed to make $42,969,845 after making $42,018,900 last season. With these rumors spreading around we have to ask if Kevin Durant will be on the Brooklyn Nets or another team next season. Here are some possible trade destinations for Kevin Durant and why it is unlikely that these teams can trade for him.
Minnesota Timberwolves:
The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the teams that the Brooklyn Nets tried to trade Kevin Durant too. The Timberwolves just traded for Rudy Gobert who is on a 5 year 205 million dollar contract that he signed in 2021. This means that in order to trade Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets would need to get in return one of the two centers in Karl Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert who are both on 200 million dollar plus contracts. It was revealed that the Brooklyn Nets offered Kevin Durant for Anthony Edwards, Karl Anthony Towns, and four first-round picks. The Timberwolves declined this offer as they did not want to give up their much younger core group for a 33-year-old superstar who's struggled to stay on the court the past few seasons. Considering that there is no other offer that the Timberwolves seem to want, it is unlikely that they make the trade for Kevin Durant this offseason.
Phoenix Suns:
Similar to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns are unwilling to give up the younger pieces to the core group to trade for KD. Originally, Durant listed the Suns as one of the two teams that he wants to be traded to this offseason but the only cost was that the Suns keep Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton. The Suns and Nets have been in trade talks ever since Kd listed the Suns as his preferred destination, but the problem is that the Nets want Devin Booker whom the Suns are not willing to give up. Just like the core group in Minnesota, the Phoenix Suns believe that Devin Booker is too valuable to their core group to trade to the Nets for an aging injury prone superstar. While Kevin Durant is certainly an upgrade from these players as far as talent, it is clear that a lot of these teams are unwilling to trade for him because of the offers and asking prices the Nets are proposing to these organizations.
Miami Heat:
The Miami Heat are another team that has young pieces and stars on their team that they are unwilling to give up in return for Durant. It was reported that Miami was the other team that Kevin Durant was interested in landing next season which is ironic considering both teams he is interested in were the number one seeds in their respective conferences last season. Nevertheless, similar to the Timberwolves and Suns, Miami is unwilling to give up their young star in defensive beast Bam Adebayo who the Nets want in any deal involving Durant. Since the Miami Heat would most likely have to trade Jimmy Butler or Adebayo along with some first-round picks, it is unlikely that Kevin Durant will land there as well.
Los Angeles Lakers:
The Los Angeles Lakers surprisingly have not only been looking to trade for Kevin Durant but have also been looking to trade for Kyrie Irving. Of course, in order to pull off this insane deal, there might have to be a third team involved in order for the deal to go through. If that doesn’t work then the Lakers could add another team to the deal or they just trade for one of the star players. The reason why it is unlikely for Durant to go to the Lakers is that they have been mostly rumored to be more interested in Kyrie Irving along with Joe Harris for Russell Westbrook. While it would be interesting to see a Lebron James, Westbrook, and Durant team next season, it is more likely that the Lakers trade for Kyrie instead making a core group of Lebron, Kyrie, and Anthony Davis which will instantly make them a contender again for the title next season.